Wahed Invest- Shariah Compliant Robo-Advisor for Passive Income

 Good day Guys!

Hope you're doing well. Today I would like to talk about one of the popular Robo-advisor in Malaysia, Wahed Invest. Firstly, for those looking for referral code for singing up to earn bonus, my Wahed Invest referral code is 'devvij1'. 

I'm sure some of you are asking "what the hell is a Robo-advisor?". According to Wikipedia; "Robo-advisors or robo-advisers are a class of financial adviser that provide financial advice or investment management online with moderate to minimal human intervention. They provide digital financial advice based on mathematical rules or algorithms." It's basically like buying a hamper from the supermarket. You get different items (portfolio) when you pay for the hamper, in hopes of getting a collection of good products (returns). 

As I like to keep things as simple as possible, the way I understand this is that Robo-advisors are basically similar to Unit Trust whereby you invest money this app and based on the risk profile you select, your money gets invested in a portfolio. Unlike a Unit Trust, there are no human fund managers which results in a much lower fee for Robo-advisors. There are currently 7  Robo-advisors in Malaysia (as of 21/06/2021). Other Robo-advisors are Stashaway, BEST Invest, MyTheo, Raiz, AkruNow and Versa.

Wahed Invest is a shariah compliant Robo-advisor based in the United States of America. Shariah compliant basically means it only invest in Halal sectors and avoids sectors involving alcohol, firearm, impure products, gambling etc. However, anyone including non-Muslims can (and should!) invest in Wahed. In fact, I've received one of the best returns from Wahed Invest when compared to other Robo-advisors. Wahed's portfolio involves U.S. stocks, Sukuk, Malaysian stocks, Gold and cash. 

GETTING STARTED

1. Signing up for Wahed is extremely easy. First step would be to download the Wahed Invest app from Google Play or Apple App store.

2. Follow the sign up instruction and provide the required documents which is your ID/IC and proof of address etc. 

3. Don' forget to use the code 'devvij1' when signing up to get approximately RM 10 to add on to your investment fund. 

4. Subsequently complete the questionnaire to find out which risk profile suits you. The profile are 

    - Very Aggressive (Potentially Highest risk and also potentially the best returns)

    - Aggressive

    - Moderately Aggressive ( What I choose)

    - Moderate

    - Moderately Conservative

    - Very Conservative (Lowest risk bu potentially lower returns)

    - Gold (If you want to invest exclusively in Gold)

5. Do note that you can choose to open up more than one risk profile (for example one Aggressive and one moderate). I personally invested in Moderately Aggressive and Gold.

6. After selecting a profile, deposit a minimum of RM 100 to get started. Do note however that the deposited money takes 1 to 2 working day to be reflected into your Wahed Account. Therefore, don't freak out when the money in not reflected immediately after deposit.

* All the portfolio consist of the same thing, the only difference is in the percentage of each investments. For example, if you choose the Most aggressive portfolio, most of your investments will be in U.S. Stocks (about 60%). If you choose very conservative, mos of your investments will be in Sukuk and Gold.

Notes

- Please use the code 'devvij1' for free RM 10 to kickstart your investment when you sign up.

- Wahed Invest charges a small fee which is as follow

    > 0.79% for RM100-RM499,999 deposited

    > 0.39% for >RM500k deposited

    > For each additional account, you are charged the 0.79%/0.39% fee structure OR RM2.50 per month

- However,TBH the fees are negligible and I don't even realise that they are charging me unless I look at the monthly statement.

- It is normal for your funds to fluctuate up and down. However, there should be an overall increment in your profit. When I initially started investing in Wahed, I would check the performance daily and be upset when the value drops. It takes time for the value to rise up. The best strategy is to forget about it after investing and checking it maybe once a month or so. 

- Withdrawal takes about 10 working days. I have withdrawn my money twice without any problems.

- I've received about 6% return on my investment only after 4 months.

- If you are thinking of investing in Gold, Wahed is an alternative to HelloGold and Public Gold. I personally also use Hello Gold for diversity (My cheeky HelloGold Referal code for free RM 5: DEVI9VMC). However, I find Wahed Gold to be easier to invest and maybe better rates.

- Wahed invest allows you to invest in U.S. Stock market as well without the expensive fees (U.S. stocks are extremely pricey, so this is a good way venture into the U.S. market without breaking your bank). Only drawback is that Wahed chooses the portfolio for you.

- Wahed Invest is a type of Passive Income where you just leave your money there and let it grow. 

Conclusion

Wahed Invest is one of the best Robo-advisor platform out there. It is an excellent way to generate passive income and a good way to diversify your investments. It is also excellent for those who want a safe alternative to fixed deposit with a higher return. Don't forget to use the code 'devvij1' when you sign up for free RM 10. 

See you soon and Happy Investing!